"Bike to Work" Week May Be Easier After City Fixes

Louisville Metro Government officials say the city is striving to become a friendlier place to bike. This is “Bike to Work” week, and Mayor Jerry Abramson is encouraging Louisvillians to try it out.

To make it easier, the city has added some bike lanes and posted signs marking bike routes. But officials acknowledge the city is still a long way from being 100% “bikeable.” Mayor’s office spokesperson Chris Poynter says the city is making progress, but it’s one road at a time.

“The day when we have a bike lane on every road in the city, it’s going to be a while. But we had to start somewhere. Three years ago we had two miles of bike lanes. This year now we’ll have 40,” Poynter said.

Poynter says a new city policy requires that a bike lane be added to any road undergoing improvements such as repaving or widening. And most city roads are repaved every few years. Still, some roads will simply always be too narrow for bike and car lanes. In those cases, Poynter says the city will post more signs to encourage motorists and cyclists to cooperate.